Half-century....:-)

PROLOGUE:
Yeah...this is it!!!!...a half-century of posts....for a blog that is more than 3 years old...:-)....a seriously unconventional act for a so called *Blogger*..yep...I know that....but there are a multitude of reasons for this....the work pressure in 2005, the blooger blcok by the govt of India...and lately...the use of Live Journal....:-)....for most of my posts...just for convenience...

actually this is ironic....this post was the one of the first posts that I wrote in preparation for my blog...it was so close to my heart...cause it was also a way of representing what I thought about the world...much the reason for which I chose to blog....but somehow didnt publish it...infact a *coming Soon* post came in very early in this blog for this article...and that *soon*..is now....3 years later....and a much more choosier blogger.... and a much more idealistic self.....

And one more disclaimer....this post was written in MID 2004 when the software bandwagon was just getting to full-steam...so you should be warned..and well informed that..you might get *hey whats new in this*..and *this is archaic*...and *what bla-bla-bla is this*......

the scenario now is quite the same...much more specific in problems.....so...this is just to record my feelings....JUST IN LINE WITH MY MOTIVE OF MY BLOG...




HOW IS IT TO BE A SOFTWARE ENGINEER IN INDIA.....

This is current affairs...concurrent affairs!!!! The refreshingly new face of India....India has got synonymous with this Buzz word....You get instant recognition and respect when you say "I am a software engineer working for XYZ"...you are treated differently by the general non-IT public..which is more than 90 % at places....So does all this present a rosy picture??? a life recipied in heaven with all the goodies...and lived in this world with all the riches????

naaa....not all the times...is what I feel,....true and accepted is the fact that you are called UpperClass with the wage structure prevalent in software industry in India....you have a quick route to riches in this profession...you can get SETTLED in LIFE (a cliche..I feel)...you can lead a life par the american one ( keeping in mind the mentality of most Indians to compare with America for every walk of life!!!)......you can wine and dine at the choicest locations..you can think you can live a luxurious life compared to the guy with the same amount of experience in the conventional work ways!!!..more so if you are a bachelor..;-)...

All said and done....you can always bask in these positives..if you always want to see the clear sky....but the truth is that there are murkier clouds..behind the clear one, which the seemingly external onlooker will fail to decipher...okok..wait...wait..this is neither a writeup to crib about my
present profession nor an attempt to mar the significance of my profession which has brought glories to India -- improving India's economy..bringing in a lot of foreign investment..getting a brand image called INDIA INC working....torch bearing outsourcing for the countries world over..piloting education, fringe employment for thousands...and umpteen other goodies..which this writer...will not in any way be able to put into words....-- I feel I am digressing off the epicentre....

anyways....onto the murkier part...firstly...software engineers' life is a saga in its own..for most parts...leave alone the stress that software specialists face..which they have taken as a daily affair of their life. Every individual in this industry will surely have a story of their own...own version of
troubles they face and the consequences they have had in their life because of this profession...People leave their hometowns for greener pastures in IT capitals of the country, few and far between them...handful of them in fact....The irony is that...only in such stressful work conditions would you need the moral support of the family....but alas you are left to handle it all alone..(as if it's a test for your life ahead??!!!)

Practical reality is that only 25-30 % (approximate) of the software fraternity...is computer science gradutes or aware of software engineering, or trained in software basics in college... the other half..majority in actuality are unaware of the nuances of the trade...and are just pushed into the milieu to grapple it out all alone...just because there were no avenues for professionalism in their original intended profession, which is a hard pattern to not notice. This is where trouble starts. They are always up against the monster of expectation...mostly fighting their own inability and trying to disprove it...and succeeding at that. Thus its always a ME Vs the world trying to test my ability, my assertiveness to buckle to pressure....but at the end of the day..you see him sailing it out...which reminds me of a phrase from Srimad Holy Bhagvad Gita quoted in Tamil, "Ithuvum Kadanthu Sellum.." meaning that "This will also be a passing cloud..and will not stay to torment you / be with you for eternity". Atleast this is how I take it.

One learns quickly that the code they write/maintain is no more useful than to feed the self..just another way to get the outsourcing bandwagon moving in India....

ok....so now that you have just got a glimmer of a light into what a software engineer is made up of in this Information Age....

This isnt anything of the *Amartya Sen* type essays which are masterpieces in themselves...this is just to show what I felt at some point inside me...which was much different from what I am made of....

It was more of a *record of the impression of the self*.....so thats how introspective a Software Engineer is.....:-)




EPILOGUE:
happy blog-reading....and for heaven's sake please....please....return to my blog....for more posts...not necessarily interesting though...;-)